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The entries we received were incredible, showing just what can be achieved when young people's futures are the focus. But there can only be one winner (or in some cases, two!), so let's dive in.
What are the Impact Awards?
There are five open categories, open for anyone to nominate:
- Future-Ready Employer: the organisation leading the way in giving young people the tools to be career ready
- Future-Ready University: the university leading the way in giving young people the tools to be career ready
- Employer Impact Initiative: an initiative making a standout impact on young people's futures
- Careers Leader of the Year: a school or college careers leader making a standout impact for young people
- Young Impact Maker: a young person already shaping the future of work
We also give four Partner Awards. The Springpod team chooses these internally, based on each partner's performance and impact throughout the year.
How the winners were chosen
Our judging panel chose the winners of Future-Ready Employer, Future-Ready University and Employer Impact Initiative. Young people should have a say in who's making a difference for them, so the panel included six of Springpod's Future Makers: Avagh Flaherty, Joanne Binith, Maysa Khandoker, Niamh Sammon, Syriah Clayton-Rumble and Zac Connell.
They were joined by:
- Joanne Leach, Careers Leader RCDP, Xaverian College
- Shaina Saif, Careers and Library Manager, Leigh Academies Trust
- Stephanie Bishop, Early Careers & Campus Senior Manager, AMS
Some of our judges are young people and careers leaders themselves. To keep things fair, the Springpod team voted on Young Impact Maker and Careers Leader of the Year.
The winners
Future-Ready Employer: Met Office
The Met Office has built a careers journey that runs from age 13 to 18+, and up to 24 for young people with SEND. It links learning in the classroom to real work experience and entry routes. Since 2023, 5,400 students have joined its online work experience programme, and its education resources have been downloaded more than 85,000 times. Best of all, places on its in-person placements are awarded for effort and engagement, not grades or personal connections, so every young person has a fair shot. Joanne from our judging panel said “A great initiative that will clearly grow over the next few years.” So watch this space for even more impact in the coming years from The Met Office!
A massive shout-out to our runners-up. The Institution of Chemical Engineers is changing who sees themselves in engineering: 35% of its participants are female, against around 20% of the engineering workforce. Rolls-Royce is reaching young people in more than 3,800 schools and colleges, years before they'd ever apply for a job. Harts Group offers paid placements for neurodivergent young people, and SEND4 has turned work experience into paid jobs.
Future-Ready University: University of Huddersfield
The University of Huddersfield has given its students something every young person deserves, a clear view of where their degree can take them. Over a year, its careers team built a labour market intelligence dashboard from more than 15 million data points, covering 1,800 occupations and 48,000 job titles across around 300 courses. Students can see which jobs link to their degree, what those roles pay, the skills employers are looking for, and where in the UK the jobs are actually being advertised, all on one interactive heat map. In 2025/26 it reached 984 students through the university's employability award and more than 3,230 through careers education. It has already won two sector awards, and we're thrilled to add one more.
A massive shout-out to our runners-up. The University of Strathclyde's Careers and Employability Service offers paid work experience for autistic students, and it has funded 77 entrepreneurship internships so small local employers can take a chance on graduates. The University of Wolverhampton built a whole support system around its Micro Internships, helping more than half of its students complete them in the middle of exam season.
Employer Impact Initiative: Civil Aviation Authority
The Civil Aviation Authority has spent six years on a mission to open up aviation and aerospace to young people who've never seen themselves in the sector. Its national STEM outreach programme has engaged more than 600,000 young people since launch. In the last three years alone, more than 22,000 have completed virtual work experience, removing the geographic and financial barriers that so often decide who gets a foot in the door. It's powered by a network of more than 240 colleague volunteers. The CAA has also created 12 aviation-specific Duke of Edinburgh skills activities, donated more than 600 digital devices and built a sector careers website from scratch. That's impact on a truly national scale
This was the tightest round of the whole awards, and our judges had their work cut out. The standard was so high that we couldn't keep this shortlist short, so here's a massive shout-out to every one of our runners-up. Engineers Ireland reached more than 125,000 children and young people across two jurisdictions in a single year. Gatwick Airport's pre-employment academy has already helped 69 people into aviation jobs, while its Year 10 programme is giving local students a real look behind the scenes. At JLL, apprentices built a network for fellow apprentices, which now reaches hundreds of young people across the UK. Reed Smith's careers fair, now in its fourth year, creates space for students with disabilities to have real conversations with employers. The Met Office mentors near-miss applicants rather than turning them away, and Rolls-Royce is inspiring young people years before they'd ever reach a recruitment pipeline. The Courtyard Islington's supported employment programme for neurodivergent young people, NeuroTalent Works, is so popular that demand now outstrips places. National Gas Transmission's colleagues give their own time to run a hybrid work experience programme that students rate 4.7 out of 5.
Careers Leader of the Year: Alex Parsons-Moore, Nicholas Chamberlaine School
Alex's school is in an area in the bottom 10% nationally for youth social mobility. Through the Wide Horizons programme, Alex ran 33 events in a single year and created more than 4,000 opportunities for pupils from Year 7 to Year 13. These ranged from a presentation for 1,400 pupils to small, targeted university and engineering activities. Where 85% of sixth formers used to head straight to university, around 40% now take apprenticeship routes.
"Congratulations to Alex and everyone at Nicholas Chamberlaine School on winning Careers Leader of the Year. What stood out to our team was the ambition and care behind the Wide Horizons programme. In a community where the odds have too often been stacked against young people, Alex has made sure that every student, from Year 7 to Year 13, is encouraged to look beyond the immediate and aim higher. This is careers leadership at its very best: strategic, inclusive and deeply rooted in the needs of the community it serves. Alex is a truly deserving winner, and we're proud to celebrate this achievement." Jo Bishop, Senior Schools and Outreach Lead, Springpod
A massive shout-out to our runners-up. Heather Pryce has transformed careers support at University College Birmingham. She brought teams together through FEHired and made sure learners with SEND and EHCPs are heard at every level. Corinne Clarke has built an ambitious, inclusive careers programme at Mill House School, linking careers with social action and volunteering to give every pupil the confidence to take their next steps.
Young Impact Makers: Maysa Khandoker and Eva Forgacz-Cooper
This year, we simply couldn't pick just one.
Maysa Khandoker, Solihull Sixth Form College
Maysa is Chair of Student Council and a Student Governor. She has also led charity fundraising and run anti-bullying workshops in primary schools, and she makes sure young people's voices are heard at every level.
"Maysa is exactly what this award is about: a young person who doesn't just talk about the challenges her generation faces, but rolls up her sleeves and takes action. By openly sharing her journey on LinkedIn, she's helping peers discover opportunities they might never have considered. Maysa is already shaping the future of work, and we can't wait to see what she does next." Jo Bishop, Senior Schools and Outreach Lead, Springpod
Eva Forgacz-Cooper
Eva has brought a powerful young person's voice to conversations about work experience and access, including in the Houses of Parliament and the Civil Service. She backs it up with real action. She ran her sixth form's Law Society, trained a Bar Mock Trial team from scratch and campaigned for bursary places so money wouldn't decide who could take part.
"Eva doesn't just ask how to create opportunities. She asks who is still being left out, and then does something about it. She puts it best herself: being an Impact Maker is about making sure more people can enter the room after you. Eva is doing exactly that, and we're proud to celebrate her." Jo Bishop, Senior Schools and Outreach Lead, Springpod
A massive shout-out to our runners-up. This category stopped us in our tracks. One student launched a free business competition that has reached more than 90 countries. A young founder has handed out more than 550 care kits to young people affected by epilepsy. An apprentice co-designed a hedge fund's very first apprenticeship programme. Together they prove you don't have to wait to make an impact, and the future of work is in brilliant hands.
The Partner Awards
These four awards come straight from the Springpod team. They celebrate the partners who have gone above and beyond with us this year.
Social Impact Award: Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce went live on Springpod in October 2025. Since then, more than 32,000 young people have taken part across 43,000+ enrolments, in programmes ranging from Aerospace Engineer to Buyer and Financial Analyst. The result is a staggering £24,190,830 in social value, generated in less than a year. That's what makes Rolls-Royce such a worthy winner of this award.
"Rolls-Royce has been an absolute dream to work with. The commitment runs right through the organisation, from their leadership to the incredible experts who give up their time for young people. That level of collaboration is rare, and it's the reason more than 32,000 young people can now picture themselves in aerospace, engineering and beyond. We couldn't be prouder to give them this award." Jenni Holmes, Head of Sales, Springpod
HE Partner of the Year: The University of Law
The University of Law has built its reputation on preparing students for professional careers, and its partnership with Springpod reflects that perfectly. The team has been hands-on with this year's Micro Internship from start to finish, from shaping the programme to cheering students over the line and solving any challenges with us along the way. They're warm, approachable and always up for a call, and they celebrate every win alongside us. It's the kind of relationship every partnership should aspire to.
"Working with the University of Law is a true partnership, and one of the best we have. Their team throws themselves into everything we deliver together, especially the Micro Internship. That energy is what lets us get the very best out of the programme, and it's exactly why their students get so much out of it. ULaw shows what happens when a university goes all in: everyone wins." Craig [surname], Senior Account Manager, Springpod
Employer Partner of the Year: RAF
In just six months, the RAF has become one of the most ambitious partners we've ever worked with. Since launching in March 2026, it has built 12 programmes with nearly 8,000 enrolments and more than 5,400 completions, with RAF Work Experience and Pilot (Combat Air) leading the way. The RAF treats us as a true partner, not a supplier. It has invited our team to RIAT, NASC and RAF Northolt, and has even championed Springpod at town shows. And we're only just getting started. Phase 2 is already underway, with 10+ new roles on the way, bringing the total to 22 virtual experiences by the start of 2027.
"The RAF partnership has been extraordinary from day one. Their team has been brilliant to build with, and together we've created 12 programmes in just six months. The response has been incredible, with nearly 8,000 enrolments already. But the numbers only tell half the story. These experiences are reaching a hugely diverse audience, from cadets taking their next step to young people discovering the RAF for the very first time. That's exactly the kind of impact we set out to make together." Ollie Fisher, CPO and Founder, Springpod
Young People's Choice: Hospitality Work Experience by Marriott
The Young People's Choice award celebrates the programme young people have embraced most this year, and Marriott's Hospitality Work Experience has been a firm favourite. More than 8,400 young people have enrolled so far this year alone. More than 300 of them are NEET, which means Marriott is reaching the young people who need support the most.
"I'm delighted to see Marriott take home the Young People's Choice award. This one means a lot because the young people decided it themselves, by choosing this programme and seeing it through. More than 11,275 young people have now enrolled in the Hospitality Work Experience, which is amazing. What I really love though is who it's reaching. More than 450 of those young people are NEET, at a time when almost a million young people in the UK are shut out of work, education and training. Marriott hasn't just opened its doors, it's made sure they're widest open to those young people that need it the most. So many young people are walking away seeing a future in hospitality they'd never imagined. That's exactly why we do what we do, and we're really proud to call Marriott a partner." Andy Dillow, COO, Springpod
We started with a tough truth. Almost a million young people in the UK are NEET right now. But every winner and runner-up in this blog is proof that it doesn't have to stay that way. Every employer opening its doors, every university rethinking support, every careers leader going the extra mile and every young person lifting up their peers is changing the story, one opportunity at a time.
To everyone who entered, nominated, judged or cheered from the sidelines: thank you. We can't wait to see what you do next.
